“Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.” —Epicurus
Enough is a freeing concept and a liberating reality.
Those who have accumulated enough are left without wanting. They are no longer required to strive for more. Instead, they live free and content.
Most of us are driven by the desire to own enough physical possessions. This is good and true—to provide for ourselves and our family is a worthy pursuit.
Because of this desire, we spend our days pursuing the increased possession of material goods—both financial and material.
And while there is nothing wrong with this pursuit, I wonder if our culture has unintentionally shifted from the pursuit of enough to the pursuit of excess. Consider the fact that most of us already own enough:
Our roof provides shelter for our entire family. Our rooms are furnished with places to sit and lie. Our dressers are filled with clothes. Our closets are supplied with towels and linens. Our pantries and our freezers are stocked with food. Our toy chests house plenty of toys.
We already have enough.
Unfortunately, we live in a world that constantly redefines this notion of enough:
- 50 years ago, a house of 1,000 square feet was considered enough. Today, the average new home is 2,300 square feet—and still 10% of us rent off-site storage.
- 30 years ago, 1.5 televisions in every home was considered enough. Today, the average American home contains more televisions than people. And when every room is full, the industry begins to redefine enough in terms of size and picture-quality.
- 15 years ago, less than half of American adults owned a cell phone. Today, over 90% of adults own a cell phone—and 70% of 12-year olds.
Advertisers work relentlessly to redefine enough. In a consumer-based society, they are required to do so.
The goal of advertising is to stir within us the thinking that we do not yet own enough. Marketers work to change our attitude about their product or service from “that’s extravagant” to “I want that” to “I need that.”
Once they can convince us we need it, our purchase is just a matter of time. If they can make us believe we don’t have enough until we own their product, they know we will continue to pursue ownership of it.
Our definition of enough has been artificially moved by a self-serving entity. And because our new definition of enough remains unachieved, our ability to enjoy its freedom has been lost.
Once again, we are held in bondage to its pursuit. We spend more of our days pursuing the money to fund the increased possession of material goods. All with the goal of finally attaining enough.
But we already have enough. Once we train ourselves to recognize this truth, we are freed from the pursuit of more, we are liberated from the bondage of discontent, and we begin to experience true freedom in our lives.
Best of all, once we realize we already own enough, we are freed to pursue more worthy endeavors than the accumulation of excess.
Tez says
It would be interesting to what other things for which we are always striving for more. Respect? Prestige? Recognition? Love? Safety? A successful marketing too is to build an emotional response to a product or service. The manipulative ones will prey on our fears, essentially telling us that we should worry if we *don’t* have something. So what is the reward we are getting when we buy stuff? Buyer’s remorse comes from buying something but not getting that satisfied feeling that we got what we paid for, probably because we realize what we just bought doesn’t make us as safe, respectable, or prestigious as we had been told. Very interesting. Thank you for the articles.
Jenny says
I agree with so much of what you said, but I also think it misses the point just a bit for those who perhaps don’t have enough. As I work with children who don’t always have a roof over their heads, clothing appropriate for the weather, or food in their pantry, I’ve found that excess isn’t always something in addition to enough, sometimes it is instead of. There are so many people (and not just in Africa) that struggle to have enough but still have the latest pair of Lebrons on their feet.
Your message is clear and true for those with a certain level of financial security. For the rest of us, it’s important to remember that letting go of excess is the only path to enough.
Pat says
I’ve noticed many people I know in the “baby boomer” age are downsizing and getting rid of stuff. Its kind of interesting that we spent the first part of our lives accumulating and the second half trying to get rid of it. Think of all the money that could have been saved! I am going through bins and bins of stuff that doesn’t fit in my new house now and just giving it to Goodwill and such places. I am doing this also so my kids don’t have to deal with it later. My daughter said it will be tossed out anyway because she doesn’t like clutter and is not sentimental with things, which is good.
Richard says
What is it that you love? BrownVagabonder posted that her battle with material desire (non-quote) is a lifetime endeavor. Except for the truly content I doubt that any of us living amongst the billboards will truly be free of material desire once and for all. But in my own experience pursuing an acceptable level of minimalism has been possible only after realigning personal priorities based on what it is that I love. When one loves the world and all that’s in it, his or her immediate and distant family and generally extracts pleasure from an appreciation of what lies under the blue skies; he or she will realize what it is that is important in life. It is at that time that the battle against depleting our check books in favor of clutter that’s cool today and forgotten tomorrow becomes second nature. Learn to love the real and you’ll find that rejecting that which doesn’t promote your love for what’s real is no battle at all.
lisa says
I want to remember the last line of your post & carry it with me, it touched me deeply .
Rich says
The article and follow up comments all hit home. Enough indeed. We have been slowly getting rid of stuff over the years, but it’s so tough to part with the ‘this may be needed someday’ objects. But I’m trying…
Thanks for your continued motivation through it all!
MaryAnne says
This post reminds me of the excellent book titled “Enough” by Will Davis Jr. We recently moved from a 2,000 square foot, 3 car garage home to an 845 sqare foot, 1 car garage home. We got rid of about half of what we owned, the rest we packed into the garage, shed and roof. We’ve started with the bare essentials in our new space, and the longer I’m there, the more I find I don’t want all that I have stored to make it into the house. Even to store it seems like hoarding when it could fill a need for someone else, so we continue to pass on what we aren’t finding functional. I so appreciate the encouragement from this blog!
Judy says
I went to a Native American faire last weekend with a dear friend who HAS to buy no matter where she goes. She bought earrings, a necklace, a t-shirt, 2 bundles of sage and a few other things. Sure I saw things I wanted…but I left them there. She is always shocked I never purchase. But why would I? I have enough. I even told her, “How much crap do I need?!” I am so over accumulating. Just because you like something doesn’t mean you have to buy it! Thanks Joshua for being here. :)
Reney says
Loved the article Josh. Once again, I can see I am living the 50’s lifestyle in the modern era.
Lindsay says
Josh, I loved this! I’ve been thinking about the question “what is enough?” quite a bit recently…I want to write about it on my blog soon but I’m still collecting my thoughts. Your title is spot on though…enough is enough! I liked your thoughts on the TV…once they’d filled every room they made them bigger/”better”. Perceived obsolescence – yuck. I wonder what will happen with mobile phones now people are almost at saturation point?
Thanks for the great post, as always!
Brittany says
It’s funny how the times I loved and remember the most about my life as child growing up were the ones when I traveled and lived with less. MY favorite memories include backpacking for days on end …so we could climb a mountain together, living in 5th wheel while we built our house, living with my boyfriend in the beginning I had one dresser drawer for my things and I loved it!!! I often reflect on these times and use it as a motivation to get back to that happy place. I know how it feels and I want to get there again! Thank you for all your words to encourage us all to be mindful, being mindful helps a lot of other parts of our lives too!
Chris says
I grew up in family of 4 (1100 sq foot house (with 1 bathroom) in the 80’s and 90’s. Our family had a 13″ TV until about 1990. I remember gathering around the TV to watch shows in the evenings.. funny how you remember those times…and they were good times.
Amazing how much things have changed..